The mother of a man accused of murder was secretly recorded saying he asked his parents to say they were visiting him when the alleged victim vanished.
Janet Church was also recorded saying: "I just wish he hadn't lied to us because you know that got us in a lot of trouble".
The covert recordings were played in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday during her evidence at the trial of her 51-year-old son James "Jim" Scott Church. He has pleaded not guilty to murdering Leisl Smith, who disappeared from the Central Coast on August 19, 2012. The body of the 23-year-old has never been found.
Ms Church testified that in late 2012, her son told his parents police were investigating the disappearance of a young woman on August 19. She later found an auction receipt, dated August 19, for a box of cookware they had bought their son and delivered to him.
She provided police with a statement in February 2013 saying they had coffee and a chat with him for a couple of hours. "Did you ever speak to Jim about what you would say to the police?" prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe asked. "No," the mother answered.
Ms Ratcliffe then played parts of conversations recorded in April 2013, including one where Ms Church told her daughter: "Jim asked us could we say we were out there and we did". Ms Church repeatedly said she didn't remember the conversations, saying she had a drinking problem and it was a long time ago.
In one clip, Church tells his parents police said they had video evidence of his car two-and-a-half hours away from his address that day. "They are disputing the fact that you were at my place," he says, telling his parents police were "bulls***ing". "You stick to your story," he says.
He tells his father: "No, I haven't murdered her Dad", while his mother later says: "Where is the body?". "I don't remember this at all," Ms Church told the judge. She also didn't remember her son later telling his parents he actually was not at home on August 19 but driving up to a friend's home.
Three months after her police statement, Ms Church made a statement at her solicitor's office saying she did not recall seeing her son on August 19.
The judge-alone trial continues before Justice Elizabeth Fullerton.
